Torrential rains and flooding in a southern Egyptian province of Aswan has led to more than 500 people being hospitalized due to scorpion stings, NBCNews publishes.
Egypt’s heavy rains cause scorpion stings
This weekend, authorities had to suspend classes in schools and institutes, said Governor Ashraf Attia.
As a result, a large part of the province’s population was at home.
The rains caused the scorpions hiding in the nooks and crannies of houses to come out of hiding and sting hundreds of people.
It is known that a total of 503 people have been hospitalized until Tuesday, who had to be treated urgently and received doses of antivenom.
Although some media have reported three deaths from the sting, the Minister of Health, Khalid Abdel-Ghafar, has stated that there have been no deaths and the injured have been discharged and have returned to their homes without complications.
According to the Egyptian media Egypt Today, the professor of the Agricultural Research Center, Ahmed Rizk, says that the heavy rains drag scorpions and snakes that head to people’s homes in the higher parts of the city such as hills or mountains.
The sting of an Egyptian fat-tailed scorpion is one of the deadliest in the world. They can be lethal in less than an hour, posing a real threat to the local population.
Some of the effects of the venom are breathing difficulties or muscle spasms that cause sudden, bizarre movements.
Torrential rains
Numerous inhabitants of Aswan have wanted to show the consequences of the squall on their social networks, where thunder, heavy rains and hail can be seen in streets, farms or houses.
#Egypt🇪🇬 : Health official in Aswan has told #BBC that the heavy thunder & hail storm there washed scorpions into the streets & people’s homes – causing 400 people to be stung – in the rains scorpions seek refuge anywhere they can.
Seems like #Biblical 🤔
pic.twitter.com/ulQfPYXtrv— Watchman (@Judmir3) November 13, 2021
